Little Things and Changes

Not a lot changes in 4 months, but I think what does change the most is little kids (especially those under 1). They grow really fast in those 4 short months! And you don't realized it when you see them constantly during that time. My little nephew Dylan and my cousin Lindsey's little girl Lydia have changed so much since we saw them last! They are both SOO cute, I can't get over it.

(Brody and Dylan were both very intrigued with the movie Horton Hears a Who)

Speaking of little things and changes. Brody's sister got a new Husky puppy and he is the cutest thing. He likes to bite Sal's ear and Sal just takes it. It's funny/sad and pretty entertaining.

Surprise

When I found out that I was able take a few extra days off work before Christmas, Brody and I thought it would be fun to not tell anyone and just show up 5 days early. Well, we had to tell a few people-- Brody's mom, since we were going to be staying there for the first week, and also Lindsey to make plans about how to surprise my family. So after work on Friday we packed up and were gone by 6:00pm. We drove all through the night and arrived at 6:30 am. Conveniently, my entire family was gone at a little family overnighter and had left a key out for the paper route subs so get in, so we were able to go inside and sleep for a few hours until they got home. We also prepped the house to freak them out a little bit when they got home. We turned on all the lights, the radio, lit a candle, and put a few nutcracker dolls in the middle of the floor. Then we hid in the back room and had fun listening to them trying to figure out how the house got this way. Then we came out and yelled surprise!!! and everyone freaked out. It was great.

I was hoping to get a good picture of their faces, but my camera let me down. You still get the idea.

Christmas time= HOME

I love Christmas. Obviously. But I never thought I'd actually miss the freezing cold weather, snow and ice that this wonderful holiday brings. But I am now realizing how true it is that Christmas is just not the same without it. It doesn't feel right to wear flip-flops on December 15 and to look out the window and see bright blue sky and deep green grass and trees. It's my first time being away from home for a majority of the Christmas season and let's just say I can NOT wait till we're back in Utah in one week!!!!!

Birthday Boy

On Sunday November 29th, Brody Gunnell Hatch turned 25!! (yay for insurance discount) It had been a crazy week with my family coming and Thanksgiving and all that but I still managed to do a little something special (as much as I could do anyway considering it was a Sunday). For starters, I surprised him (sort of) with his dream present-- an xbox 360. Now let me explain. For years I've been resisting Brody's wishes to get an xbox because I just don't want him to waste his time on it, but it actually kind of fits our situation right now for the following reasons....

1. brody's last day of class is today, December 9 and next semester doesn't start till January 25. That's 47 days with nothing to do. (believe me, I know how boring that can be). We'll be in Utah for only 10 of those days. I work full time. What else is he going to do? Well, there are lots of other things to do, but with that much free time, I'm sure he'll be able to do it all.

2. when he IS in school he does get a short break here and there, but it's not usually long enough to go out and do something, so playing a quick game is just the right amount of time to take his mind off his busy school work.

3. he didn't give me ANY ideas of something that he wanted (besides things that are even more expensive than an xbox, so I figured it was the best option, considering). Plus, I still have to come up with even more ideas of something to get him for Christmas.

So, anyway, he was quite excited about that. Except I'm so dang easy to read and so BAD at lying to keep it a surprise that he figured it out before even opening it. Oh well, I guess that's better than me being good at lying.....? That night I had some friends of ours come over for a SpongeBob themed cake and ice cream party (cheesy on purpose) with those paper plates and cups that you buy at Wal-Mart for little 5 year olds. I was going to go all out with balloons and a spongebob cake, but it didn't happen. I was lucky to get what I did. Still, it was fun/funny, and the only thing I could really come up with to do on a Sunday.

I'm so grateful for Brody and all his hard work in school and his willingness to do what he needs to to be able to support our family in the future. I'm grateful for his desire to succeed and reach his goals and for never giving up. Here are just a few of the countless reasons that I am in love him:

- I love his unique style (especially because it's all so cheap!) but also because that's just who he is and I love it.

- I love that he loves to teach/speak in public settings and that he's so good at it. He spoke the other day in church and just got called as a sunday school teacher for the 12-13 years olds and I've never heard more people tell me what a good job he's doing.

- I love that he's always so willing to help me with things around the house when I have a busy week, even though he's just as busy.

- I love his taste in music and hobbies and that for the most part, they are the same as mine. I love that we have fun together no matter what we're doing.

- I love that he has a strong testimony of the gospel and is always willing to share it.

- I just love our life together and the fun times we have, which are many. Thanks for everything Brod, I love you and think you are the greatest thing that ever happened to me!

Thanksgiving

I guess it's time to do my Thanksgiving post.

We were originally planning on being on our own for Thanksgiving for the first time this year but then my family decided to take a trip down that week and I'm so glad they did. Big holiday's like this just aren't the same without family. They stayed two nights at our house (yes, 7 mostly grown people in a 700 sq ft apartment, and a dog. Thank goodness for blow up mattresses. It was tight, but fun!) and then we all spent 2 nights in Mesa to visit friends and family. We had a really busy but very fun weekend including things like....

-- Card games (of course)

-- A hike on the morning of Thanksgiving

-- Eating 2 Thanksgiving dinners! One at our apartment and one at my grandma's the next day. I don't think I could ever get sick of Thanksgiving food!

-- Multiple shopping trips including one on black friday (6:30 am)

-- Playing shuffleboard (my family, including me, has a weird obsession with this game- I think it started on our cruise where we played at least 5 games a day).

-- Eating out at the yummiest mexican restaurant- Tia Rosas.

-- Going to the movie "The Blind Side"

-- Checking out the swap meet

-- Eating Pie and Ice Cream with my cousin Jordan and her cute family

And of course just enjoying spending time together. It was so

great to have them here for a few days and I'm so glad we were able to spend Thanksgiving with family. Thanks so much for coming down! We will miss you. But not for long since we will be back in Logan for Christmas before we know it!

*** I am so grateful for so many things and just as much as the actual things themselves, I'm grateful for this time of year when we can focus on how truly blessed we are and for the many opportunities we have to serve others.***

Update

My Job:

I'm just now realizing that I forgot to mention on my blog that I got a new job! I started the week of Halloween with a small Medical Billing Company that is owned by a family in my ward. My job is to call the insurance companies (or check online for the bigger companies) and make sure they are paying what they are supposed to. If they aren't, I have to figure out why and fix whatever is wrong and get them to pay. I spend a lot of time on the phone (on hold for most of that time) and on the computer. It doesn't sound like anything exciting, but it's really an awesome job compared to some of the other options I was considering prior to getting this job. It is just the perfect situation for this time in my life. Here's a few reasons why:

- It's full time. YAY! Finally. Something to occupy my time and something to pay our bills.

- It's Monday-Friday from 8:30-5:00 just like I wanted. I NEVER have to work past 5 and I NEVER have to work Saturday or Sunday. I am guaranteed to have that time to spend with Brody and enjoy life, no matter what. I love that.

- It pays better than any job I've had thus far in my life-- by $1.00, but still, it adds up!

- It's exactly 2 miles away from my house. I can get there in 7 minutes. 5 if all the lights are green.

- I can wear whatever I want. Which is perfect for me because I don't own very many "nice/dressy" clothes.

- I get to work with my friend Meghann. It was so nice to already know someone when I started and it's great to carpool and eat lunch together.

- The work itself is fairly easy and not too boring (for the most part anyway- Wednesday's get a little hard, but that's normal right?).

Here's the view from my desk. Not bad... eh?

(we work out of a house, so this is the backyard)

It's a whole different world working full time. Aside from a few busy weeks at my job in Logan, I've never had a permanently full time job. It was a little weird at first having to do all my laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning, working out and errand running in the evening or on Saturday, on top of making, eating and cleaning up dinner, and trying to find SOME time to relax, but I'm getting used to it. (Brody does help a lot with things around the house and I am VERY appreciative of that!) The thing that makes it all worth it is knowing that down the road, our roles will switch and Brody will be working full time and I will (hopefully) be able to do what I've always wanted-- stay at home with the kids. And let me just add how comforting it is to know that Brody will (most likely) be working at a job he truly enjoys. At least that's what we're hoping will come of all his hard work at school.

{P.S. I really look up to my dad who doesn't love what he does, but does it anyway to support his family. I know it's hard for him at times, but that's what makes him such a great person!}

Brody's School:

Speaking of Brody and school, he has been super busy lately with classes, homework, group projects, assignments and any and all other school related work. He usually does school work all day while I'm at work, and then we can hang out for the rest of the night. Grad school is definitely more time consuming than undergrad was, but he loves what he's doing and enjoys learning more about it, which, like I said makes things much easier. I guess if we wasn't super busy, we wouldn't be getting what we are paying for!!

Trips to Mesa:

It is SO nice to have multiple family and friends just 45 minutes away (and Jordan and her family who are even closer!!) to do things with. We try and make a trip down there once or twice a month, for sure to go to the temple and then to just hang out if we can make it down again. I love the Mesa temple and I can't wait to do a session. So far we've done baptisms and sealings, both with our friends Stu and Alyssa, which were both really awesome. Thanks to everyone who has invited us into their home and made us feel welcome here in Arizona!

(did you notice that one panel that is missing windows?

Weird huh?)

A Birthday

Today, Salomon the dog became 2 years old.

Halloween Spirit Cont... (pictures)

Here are all the pictures of my Halloween Spirit I was talking about.

DECOR:

Hanging ghosts (Cost= $2.50 total)

{Made from cotton balls taped together for the head and gauze for the rest. I already had cotton balls and tape, gauze was 2.50}

Bats (Cost= $.35 total)

Chair Cover ($2.50) & Spooky Tree ($1.00)

Witches Broom (Free) & Peeking Eyes ($1.00)

{The broom is made from a dead palm tree branch I found. I spray painted the stick part black with the spray paint I used on the tree and tied the leaves with the ribbon I already had}

I probably spent a total of $10 on these decorations but I still have leftover spray paint, ribbon and black paper to use for something else! It was a lot of fun and gave me something to do for a few days.

COSTUMES:

Brody decided to be Bill Cosby. I don't know much about him, but apparently he wears ugly sweaters and loafers with white socks. Well, when Brod found this afro wig at a thrift store and an ugly sweater to go with it, that's what he wanted to be. He already had loafers and white socks, so that was easy. We thought about painting his face brown, but thought that might not go over so well with some people.

Sydney gave me the idea to be a character from the movie Dodgeball. I liked this idea because it was basically free! Brody had some yellow b-ball shorts from high school and I had a yellow jersey he got me from Brazil, so it was perfect. I also had a red shirt to go underneath and a red headband. I just bought the material to make the label, the sweatband and the ball.

TREATS:

I made 4 new recipes for the first time and they all turned out pretty good, I must say! Hot apple cider, Halloween Fingers, Caramel Popcorn and Caramel Apples (with homemade caramel!) The fingers are made with butter, peanut butter and sugar (mmm healthy) with an almond slice for the fingernail and a pretzel in the middle for a bone.

I'll do another post later (after Halloween) about our Halloween activities

Halloween spirit

For some reason, I am really getting into the Halloween spirit this year. I've always liked Halloween, but I've never put much thought into any of the festivities. This year, maybe because of all the extra time on my hands, I've been busy conjuring up really cheap ways to make cute decorations (thank you google), planning costumes, treats, and carving pumpkins. Stay tuned for an update on all these things.

Also, I'm still accepting ideas for really cheap costume ideas for me and Brod. I haven't come up with anything good.

Question?

Why weren't prom dresses this cute when I was in high school?

{This is my little sister's friend/friend's little sister and her friends}

For those of you that don't have facebook...

Brody got accepted into the study abroad in the Czech Republic!! We'll be living in Prague for 6 weeks this coming spring. We are SOOOOO excited!!!

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Brody has applied to do a study abroad for 6 weeks next spring, and also for an internship for 3 months in the summer. He had to write a bunch of essays for the study abroad and they can only pick so many people, and he applied for a few internships in various locations, and is now waiting to hear back about whether or not he got it; just like a job. So we don't know what will happen, but we could be going somewhere really fun next year. We find out about the study abroad on Monday and who knows about the internships. I'm so excited to see what happens!!

Also, I got a job at a place called Home Instead Senior Care! I will take care of the elderly in their own house, if you couldn't gather that from the name. But I've also applied/interviewed with a few other places that will give me more and better hours and better pay, so I'm not really planning on this being my job for sure, but at least I have something for now!

In the meantime, we've been loving the nice weather, I feel like it's summer in Utah. We've been out on our mountain bikes once, but the trail wasn't nearly as fun as what we're used to. We'll just have to keep looking for something better. We also went to Oktoberfest with our friends last weekend in Tempe which was really fun. It was a great place to do some people watching and spend $5 for a hot dog- so $10 total for me and Brod (it was pretty good though- it was German style with loads of sour kraut. I loved it! But still, a hot dog for 5 dollars is ridiculous). There was a pretty bridge to look at and lots of entertainment. It was a fun night!

Also, we found an AWESOME park just 2 miles from our house. It's huge- 4 blocks wide and who knows how long! It has a ton of soccer fields, softball fields, volleyball nets, extreme playgrounds, probably 100 picnic tables and just really pretty scenery. It addition to all that, it also has.... a DOG PARK!! So we took Sal last night and it was pretty interesting. There were lots of dogs there and it was a big grassy area, so it was perfect for him. Or at least it should have been. He just sat there and stared at all the other dogs, drooling. It was so weird. So after 15 minutes, we left and the second we got home he started running in circles around our tiny 700 sq. ft. apartment. HELLO!! That's what the park was for!!!! Silly dog. We'll just have to take him back and get him used to it.

A tribute to Fall

Dear Fall,

I REALLY miss you. It doesn't seem right to put up all of your decorations and start thinking about what to dress up as for your famous holiday when I'm still wearing shorts and haven't even touched a jacket yet. (Although the weather IS getting much nicer here (85 for a high and 60 for a low) but I still feel like I should be wearing a jacket, at least

at night.) I never really thought I'd miss the cold weather you usually bring, because I loved the warmth of summer so much and I was always sad when it had to end, knowing there were some long cold months ahead of me. But now that I actually got what I wanted, I don't want it

anymore. I want you back in my life, and hopefully I'll get it someday soon. But until then, life goes on and we'll get used to it, at least for 2 years anyway.

{Disclaimer: Don't get me wrong- we are having a wonderful experience here in Arizona and I'm so grateful for this amazing opportunity. I wouldn't change it for anything. Not even for fall weather.}

Swim

I've decided to try harder to become a 'swimmer' in life. Here's why:

The song "Swim" by Jack's Mannequin is really good with some awesome lyrics that I think could apply to just about anyone. I have it on my playlist on the side for listening purposes.

You've gotta swim

Swim for your life

Swim for the music that saves you

When you're not so sure you'll survive

You gotta swim

And swim when it hurts

The whole world is watching

You haven't come this far

To fall off the earth

The currents will pull you

Away from your love

Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave

Begging to tear down the dawn

Memories like bullets

They fired at me from a gun

A crack in the armor

I swim for brighter days

Despite the absence of sun

Choking on salt water

I'm not giving in, I swim

You gotta swim

Through nights that won't end

Swim for your families

Your lovers your sisters

And brothers and friends

Yeah you've gotta swim

Through wars without cause

Swim for the lost politicians

Who don't see their greed as a flaw

The currents will pull us

Away from our love

Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave

Begging to tear down the dawn

Memories like bullets

They fired at me from a gun

Cracking me open now

I swim for brighter days

Despite the absence of sun

Choking on salt water

I'm not giving in

Well I'm not giving in, I swim

You gotta swim

Swim in the dark

There's no shame in drifting

Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark

Yeah you've gotta swim

Don't let yourself sink

Just find the horizon

I promise you it's not as far as you think

The currents will drag us away from our love

Just keep your head above

Swim

I've also been reading a book called "Sink, Float or Swim" by Scott Peltin. It mostly talks about how to succeed at work and in the business world (Brody got it at school), but I have been able to apply it to my own life and my own situation instead. The general idea is to learn many different ways to keep yourself energized and motivated to always do the best you can in every situation. Instead of "floating" along and doing just enough to get by (in my case, applying for job after job only to realize that none of them are working out, so far), or completely giving up and "sinking" (for me, to stop looking for jobs all together) this book teaches you how to "swim" and actually strive to do the best you can in all aspects of life.

**To be a 'swimmer' you must have "high motivation, strong self-esteem, excitement to handle challenges, and abundant physical energy. It is an outcome of excellent habits. It is a process and not a destination."**

So to do this, I'm going to volunteer.

p.s. thanks to all for your ideas and input from my last post (I had actually already looked into volunteering somewhere, but I wasn't exactly sure where, and I got some great ideas for specifics from a lot of you, so I greatly appreciate it!)

Stay-at-home Owner

I thought of a funny joke today. Maybe, if people keep asking me what I do all day while Brody is at school, instead of saying absolutely nothing, I could tell them (in a very proud-like way) "I'm a stay-at-home owner; I stay home and take care of my dog all day." And until I get a job, sadly this is pretty much true- Sal is getting the best care he'll ever get!

Speaking of doing nothing during the day, does anyone have any ideas of something (anything) that I can do during the day (besides the usual- reading, cleaning, exercising...) that costs little to nothing? I'm running out of things to do...

Missing Logan

Among the many, many things I miss about Logan, this guy is definitely one of them

I miss seeing him riding his bike around Cache Valley every so often, waving at everyone he sees. How could this happy, sweet guy NOT make your day?

Slideshow Videos

So, in all my long, boring days I've had being jobless, I've come up with an idea to make slideshow videos for people. I love doing this anyway, and I've made quite a few for myself and other relatives and I would love to do more videos for anyone who is interested! I made a "website" but really it's just another blog, with all the information. Check it out at www.slideshowvideos.blogspot.com

p.s. Tell your friends :)

The joys of living in an apartment complex

So we've kind of gone backwards with where we've lived-- we went from living in a basement apartment, to our own house, to an apartment complex. That doesn't seem right. Oh well. There are many new experiences that come along with living in an apartment complex; both the good and the not so great.

First: Doing laundry in a laudromat. Good thing there is one in the complex so it's not far but still, it's not IN our house.

Second: Having to take Salomon outside ourselves for him to do his business instead of him just being able to walk out his doggy door whenever he wants. This is a new experience, but so far it hasn't been too bad.

{This last picture is for you mom!}

Third: We have a pool! It's close and it's free and has been great fun so far! There's 2 and they even have a heated one for the winter.

I bought some cheap pool toys at the dollar store (because no where else is selling them anymore! It's too late in the summer...) not realizing they were probably made for infants. Needless to say they didn't last long (that little blue spot in the middle of the sidewalk in the last picture is the remains of Brody's inflatable seahorse that he named Paul. Weird...).

Fun activities

THURSDAY-

We had Ryan over for dinner and games for his last night in AZ. We had a great time and it was fun to have him here during our first few weeks!

FRIDAY-

We went down to Mesa and helped our friends Stu and Alyssa fix up their house they just bought. The boys used big machines and worked on removing the tile, while Alyssa and I began sanding and painting the kitchen cupboards. We had some of the yummiest pizza I ever had (from New York Pizza Dept.)

It's so weird how many freeways there are here, and how much more often we use them.

Oh yeah, check out what we saw one day driving down the street!!!

SATURDAY-

Brody went for his first bike ride down here with Stu in the morning and right when they got done, it started pouring rain. We've had 4 big rainstorms since we've been here, or monsoon's as they call them, but the first 3 were all at night and by the next day it was clear skies and in the 100's again. So it was fun to watch, listen and smell the rain on Saturday.

That night we went over to Jordan and Jakes since Von was there visiting. We watched the BYU game, ate a yummy dinner, went swimming and later watched the movie State of Play, which I thought was really good! We had a fun time and we're so grateful to the Robertson's for always being so willing to invite us over!

SUNDAY-

After church, we just relaxed, read, took naps, etc. Then made a really tasty dinner (creamy white chili- I am loving this new 'tradition' thing of making something we've never made before for Sunday Dinner). Then the Robertson's and Von came over to see our apartment and visit for a while. Their girls were so cute and were loving looking at Sal through the window. It was all fun and games until Ellie fell and hit her face on the corner of our coffee table and bit two gashes in her tongue. Poor girl! I felt so bad for her.

We saw them all again on Monday where we met up at Pei Wei's (an awesome asian restaurant) in Phoenix before Von went back home to Utah.

MONDAY-

In the morning, we invited our friends Meghann and Daniel Tracy and Claire and Dave Ford over for a big Labor Day breakfast (to continue the tradition started by my family). We ate and visited for a few hours and then actually hung out again later that night where we had dessert and played my new favorite game- Tripoley. We had a great time and we're glad to have some friends here that are also LDS and Thunderbird students.

(p.s. we did not sit in the same exact places on purpose)

It was a great weekend but now back to the boring life of being jobless....